Portia de Rossi Essays

Furthermore, there is the important question of when and how much mercy should be shown. In this scene, Shylock is asked to give mercy when he has to reason to. However, the duke claims that he is merciful to Shylock, even though he is not obliged to. Portia, who advocates mercy, grants a lot of mercy to Shylock by not taking his life but taking his religion and livelihood instead. To the Christians in the play, this is showing a lot of mercy, but to Shylock, this is hardly mercy, because Shylock claims

Representation and stereotypes Stereotypes is a big issue within the media industry. Representation within the media is show someone or something, using a process of depicting, descripting and symbolization. Stereotypes as described by Stuart Hall as “Representation is the production of the meaning of the concepts in our minds through language which enables us to refer to either the ‘real’ world of objects people or events, or indeed to imaginary worlds of fictional objects, people and events” In

In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he provides answers to fundamental metaphysical questions regarding the nature of the human soul. Though his letter is addressed to a group of eight clergymen criticizing his direct action campaign in Birmingham, his ultimate aim is the uplifting of human personhood. Underlying King’s letter is a philosophical, hylemorphic anthropology which puts an anchor deep into a certain conception of personhood, and binds all people who are to

Imagery is one of the most provocative and pervasive forms of literary techniques available and is often used to develop themes and characters. As such, it is no surprise that it is prevalent throughout Shakespeare's plays and regularly employed to develop overarching themes. In his tragic play Othello, Shakespeare uses demonic imagery as a point of contrast between a character’s true nature and the impressions held by others in order to develop the theme of how people’s impressions of others can

Portia and Calpurnia are two female characters in William Shakespeare's tragic play "Julius Caesar." Both characters have distinct roles in the play and are often compared to and contrasted against each other. Calpurnia is the wife of the Roman leader Julius Caesar, the main character, and Portia is the wife of Brutus, a friend to Caesar and an honorable man. Both wives love and support their husband, but one of these character’s support for their husband ultimately leads to their own demise. Calpurnia

Antonio knew he’d acted irresponsibly both personally and professionally, but again, he’d been powerless to do anything about it. At the concert the other night, he’d done everything he could to keep Pamela at bay, but after the concert ended, one thing led to another, and they’d ended up back in bed. The problem was that the more time he spent with her, the more he liked her. So he couldn’t stand back and do nothing, because he truly believed she was innocent. Therefore, tonight was his last

Les Miserables: Morality and the Human Experience Les Miserables by Victor Hugo focuses on the interactions between people and society, as well as how the actions of a few can affect the whole. Jean Valjean, Javert, and Thenardier were catalysts for this novel, each in their own ways. By studying how their Hedonistic, Utilitarian, and Kant’s Categorical viewpoints evolved throughout the story, one can better understand the message that Hugo is conveying to the reader: that although love can completely

Summary of The Lost Boy David Pelzer, author of The Lost Boy, shares his struggles of dealing with an abusive mother that lead to his life in foster care in his memoir. He details the beginning of his story by revealing the abuse of his mother who referred to David as “the boy” and even calls him “it”. While he has three older brothers the Mother chose David to take out her anger on and the family even referred to the abuse as “the family secret”. Forced to live in the basement, David tells how he

Creon as a Tragic Hero A tragic hero is a character whose actions result in personal downfall. This demise could be seen in isolation, unhappiness, and many times death. In the Greek tragedy Antigone by Sophocles, two main characters, Creon and Antigone, can be seen as tragic heroes. Each character’s demise is a consequence of Creon’s orders to prohibit the proper burial of Antigone’s brother, Polynices, as he was considered a traitor to the kingdom of Thebes. Creon in the Greek tragedy Antigone

self and others of Portia and the choice of self-sacrifice of Antonio. The first choice appear in The Merchant of Venice is in the character Shylock. In the society of Venice, Shylock is completely isolated and left out in the society because he is a Jew and usurer. He can be described as a 'Jew', 'heretic' and 'evil'. However, the opportunity comes to him which is the bond. The purpose of the bond is to take Antonio's flesh if Antonio cannot repay the

In looking at Shakespeare plays as a whole, it is fair to say that religion has seemingly always been a point of controversy. With this being said, none of his plays have generated more religious controversy than The Merchant of Venice. While this play seemed to hold more moving and emotional passages than any of the others we have read so far, I found Shakespeare to be extremely blunt about the insertion of anti-semitism into the play. While some try to argue that Shakespeare is able to save himself

Morrocan prince? Me to a duke? I am Bassanio, the merchant with a mediocre job depending on his boat's return, could I really be of such upper echelon? For I do not correspond to such prominence. All misery aside, Portia will be a valuable asset, to my life, to status and to my wealth. Dearest Portia, mocks herself, with a background and upbringing sought after and admired by many of the poor and uneducated. She calls herself unlessoned, unschooled and

In the author’s notes of the graphic novel of The Merchant of Venice, Gareth Hinds begins his sentiments by stating “The Merchant of Venice is a controversial play” (Hinds, 2008, p. 69). My thoughts upon reading this first sentence, and I read it before reading the play, was simply ‘why?’. As I continued reading Hinds’ introduction paragraph of his notes, the most influential word that jumped off the page was anti-Semitism. Being a Jewish individual myself, this word struck home immediately, and

1. ‘I’ll wrack thee with old cramps, / Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar, / That beasts shall tremble at thy din.’ (1.2.372-74) Interrogate the representation of violence in The Tempest. In the Shakespearean comedy The Tempest, we are presented with the psychological violence associated with the abuse of power and continuous theme of colonialism explored throughout the play. In early works of Shakespeare it is evident that the violence interrogated in his plays consists of bloodshed and

Love is the one thing that can bring people together. All around the world, people find love in other people, material objects, or religion. In A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, two Americans stationed in France, Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley, find love in eachother during World War 1. Their relationship is tested time and time again by the war, but their love for eachother is what motivates them to survive. At first, Frederic and Catherine’s relationship is based on physical attraction

In Merchant of Venice, a romantic comedy written by Shakespeare, Shylock, a man of Jewish faith, is portrayed as the villain and obstacle of the tale. Many have argued that the play was written as an anti-Semitic piece of work because of the portrayal of Shylock. Anti-Semitism is the hatred, prejudice or discrimination of Jews in all aspects of their lives, and this treatment is clearly seen being thrown onto Shylock by one of the main protagonists, Antonio. One must ask the question now, if the

Jarrod Zammit William Shakespeare’s tragicomedy The Merchant of Venice highlights the flaws in and destructive potential of religious discrimination. It emphasises to its audience how religious prejudice can initiate, heighten and justify discrimination through the Christian attitude towards Jews, and shows the erroneous discriminatory stereotyping being perpetuated by powerful individuals such as the Duke. The harm of religious discrimination is conveyed through Shylock’s protestations to segregation

In Act 2 Scene 8 tension between the Christians and the Jews increase because the Jews were being called names by the Christians. This is proven when Solanio says “The villain jew with outcries raised the Duke”(2.8.4). Other than “villain Jew” Solanio also calls them“dog Jew”, these terms show total disrespect to the Jewish race (2.8.4, 4). In addition, Shylock also doesn’t like the Christians and his daughter fled with Lorenzo. For instance, Shylock ran down the streets shouting “My daughter, O

Every prominent figure is known for their unique set of abilities, whether it is their ability to act, sing, produce, play a sport, model, etc. However, looking through that facade can either reveal an ethereal soul, or a chamber of ominous secrets. In this case, two notable figures, Richard Wagner and Michael Jackson, both held a number of offenses that would ultimately be deemed immoral by many. What mainly separates Wagner and Jackson from the regular, working class citizens is their fame. One

heiress, Portia, in the city of Belmont. Antonio is unable to loan him money because he oversees ships that are overseas. Instead, they both seek a loan from a moneylender, Shylock, who is Jewish. Shylock is hesitant at first, but agrees to a bond. If the loan isn’t paid back, Shylock may take a pound of Antonio’s flesh for his loss. Bassanio proves that he’s worthy to Portia, but finds out that Antonio’s ships were lost, therefore, Antonio forfeit his bond to Shylock. During the trial, Portia and